


Maneki-neko Lends a Paw

by Mother_of_Eevees



Category: Haikyuu!!
Genre: Alternate Universe, COVID-19 Lockdown, Cat spirit Kozume Kenma, Domestic, Gen, Minor Character Death, Pro Volleyball Player Bokuto Koutarou, Quarantine, Self Care, Strangers to Friends, Texting, Wrong number, shelter in place
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-09-16
Updated: 2020-09-16
Packaged: 2021-03-07 19:00:45
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,793
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/26502556
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Mother_of_Eevees/pseuds/Mother_of_Eevees
Summary: Bokuto is bored, starts taking cooking classes, and makes a new friend.
Relationships: Akaashi Keiji & Bokuto Koutarou, Bokuto Koutarou & Kuroo Tetsurou
Kudos: 15
Collections: Bokuto Week 2020





	Maneki-neko Lends a Paw

**Author's Note:**

> Bokuto Week Day 3 - Domestic

“Akaaaashi, I’m so booored,” Bokuto sighed heavily and flopped onto his couch. When the lockdown started, he was fine – at first. He had a home gym, a patio to relax on, and plenty of videos to catch up on. Now he was getting antsy and his first call was to his friend and former teammate.

“I understand, Bokuto-san. This enforced inactivity must be difficult, especially for an athlete like you,” in the background, Bokuto heard an odd sound, almost like Akaashi was chopping something. 

“Whatcha doing, Akaashi?”

“I’m getting ready for my cooking class,”

“What?”

“I’ve started taking online cooking classes. I never could do them before, they usually conflicted with my schedule, but since I’m home now, I thought it would be fun. Maybe you should try it, Bokuto-san,”

“Akaashi, you’re a genius! I’m going to do it. Have fun with your class!”

He hung up and started browsing. Later, he texted Akaashi:

_Akaashi, I can’t decide if I should take a class on how to make oyako-don or karaage, what do you think?_

After a minute or two, he got a reply that was not what he expected:

_I’m not Akaashi, but the oyako-don class sounds like fun to me. Do you have a lot of cooking experience?_

Ah heck, I’m sorry! But no, I don’t have a lot of experience. I figured this would be a good time to learn

_No worries, it sounds like fun and it’s a good distraction_

How’s lockdown going for you?

_Not too bad. I’ve caught up on all my reading at least!_

I’m signing up for oyako-don – I’l let you know how it goes

After the class, he texted a picture of his oyako-don to the mystery number and got an enthusiastic response.

_Nice! Looks good enough to eat ;)_

You know it, bro! (ok if I call you bro?)

_Only if I can call you bro in return_

I’d be honored 

_Virtual fist bump for my bro!_

Back at ya, bro!

Bokuto went for a run every day, early in the morning right around sunrise. Wearing a mask while running was a little weird at first, but he got used to it pretty quickly. He got to know his neighborhood better than he ever had and enjoyed seeing the flowers blooming in his neighbor’s window boxes and became friendly with the neighborhood cats and dogs. His favorite was a mostly white cat with calico markings on its head, who would look at him with a most imperious expression when he said hello to it as he ran by.

He also noticed an elderly lady sitting on her porch, dressed in black, drinking tea. He never spoke to her, but got in the habit of waving to her as he ran by. At first she didn’t react to him, but one morning she lifted a hand in response to his wave. She couldn’t see him smiling at her, so the next day when she waved, he pulled his mask down to his chin so she could see him smiling at her. A corner of her mouth crooked in a smile back at him. He pulled his mask back up and continued his run.

One day, she wasn’t there. After a few days, he was at the conbini and overheard two neighbors talking about her.

“So she just died in her sleep?”

“Yes, she usually called her grandson every morning and when he didn’t hear from her, someone went to her house and found her,”

_I don’t know why I’m texting a stranger, but I’m feeling sad today_

Bro, what’s up?

_My great-grandma died last week_

I’m so sorry, bro! Do you know what happened?

_She was really really old and it was just her time, I guess. But I spent a lot of time at her house when I was a kid and I miss her._

I’ll go to the shrine today and light some incense for her

_You don’t have to do that, but thanks, bro_

That afternoon, Bokuto put on a mask and went for a walk to a local shrine. He bought some incense and lit it, then bought a wishing plaque for his text friend’s great-grandmother. He thought for a moment, then bought another one for his morning run friend. He wrote brief messages on the back of each and hung them up in the courtyard, then went for a walk around the temple grounds.

He was admiring the trees when someone bumped into him. He looked down and saw a young man with dyed blond hair and golden eyes, wearing a red jacket.

“Sorry! Are you okay?”

The man looked at him dispassionately, then reached in his pocket and pulled out the wishing plaques that Bokuto had purchased.

“Are these yours?”

“Yes, why? Is there something wrong?”

“No, the string just came off and they fell down. Do you want to rehang them? I have more string,”

“Sure, thanks,”

He followed the young man back to the main area of the temple, and he slipped behind the counter and returned with two pieces of string. He gestured for Bokuto to hold out the plaques and he threaded the strings through the holes at the top.

He walked toward another area of the temple and gestured with his head for Bokuto to follow him. Bokuto was increasingly confused by his behavior, but followed, hoping for an explanation. After a short walk, they arrived at an inner courtyard. There were places to hang the plaques, but it was much less crowded.

“Whoa, I’ve never been here before!”

“Some people say that the gods are more likely to grant the wishes hung here,” the young man said, looking sideways up at Bokuto through his blond curtain of hair. “There are stories that the gods and their friends will take human form and guide those who they take a liking to just the right spot,”

“Really? That’s so cool! I’ve never heard that story before!”

The man muttered something about _what do they teach kids in school these days_ and pointed out a spot. “Hang yours up there. And put this with it,” he said, handing Bokuto another plaque with a twig with a dried leaf and a flower. 

“What’s the plant?”

“Catnip. Maneki-neko likes it,” he said, his eyes flashing gold as he looked at Bokuto.

“Really? Good to know! Got any extra?”

“I think you’ll be fine without it, Bokuto-san. Good afternoon,” he bowed and headed off to another area of the temple.

It wasn’t till he was halfway home that he realized that he had never told the young man his name. “Probably a volleyball fan, I guess,” he said to himself, shrugging his shoulders.

“Akaashi, I want to take this cooking class, but it says you need a pasta machine!”

“I’d lend you one if I had one, Bokuto-san, but unfortunately I don’t,”

“Your boyfriend’s a cook, how does he not have a pasta machine?”

“He makes onigiri, not pasta, Bokuto-san. He does have a lot of cooking gadgets, just not that particular one. You can always order one, they’re not that expensive,”

“Yeah, you’re right, Akaashi. I’ll order it tomorrow,”

The next morning, as Bokuto ran past the old woman’s house, he noticed two things: a car parked in the parking space, and a table with a variety of housewares on it. He slowed down to take a look. There was a small sign that said “take what you need, pay what you can” and a doodle of a cat. 

It’s a sign from maneki-neko! He thought to himself as he scanned the table. Most of it was an assortment of teacups, plates, and glasses. At one end there was a french press coffee maker and a hand cranked pasta machine. Wait, what? He shook himself like a dog after a swim and looked again. A pasta machine! Just after he had told Akaashi that he’d buy one today. He picked it up and looked at it – it seemed to be complete and in working condition. He spun the crank just to be sure, then picked it up. 

He wasn’t far from home, so he jogged back carrying it, stashing it just inside the genkan. He grabbed a handful of hundred-yen coins to leave as payment and headed back on his run, dropping them in the little cat bank on the table as he passed it again.

“This is delicious, Bokuto-san,” Akaashi said as he twirled the last of his pasta onto his fork and ate it. It was warm enough to eat outside, so he had come over for a socially distanced dinner with Akaashi and his boyfriend.

Bokuto’s smile could have powered half of Tokyo. “Thanks, ‘Kaashi! It’s not that hard once you know how, and the teacher gave us instructions on how to make a bunch of different sauces too,”

“I can’t wait to try ‘em, Bokkun,” said Osamu, using a finger to mop up the last bit of sauce on his plate. “It’s good that you’re keepin’ busy even in lockdown,”

“This is more fun than the craft stuff I was doing, plus you get to eat the results. Speaking of which, Akaashi, I’m giving up on knitting – do you want the needles and yarn I ordered?”

_How’s the cooking going?_

Great! I made pasta and sauce from scratch. It was so amazing!  
[freshpasta.jpg]

_Nice! That looks great, bro If I had known you were doing an Italian cooking class, I’d’ve given you my great-grandma's old pasta machine_

How’s the clean-up going?

_Pretty good, kind of emotionally draining though_

“Akaashi, does Osamu have any baking equipment?”

“He has a few things, what are you looking for?”

“I want to take a class on pie making, so I need a rolling pin and a couple of pie pans,”

“Ah. I don’t see any of those in the cupboard. Maybe you should check the table again,” mouth quirking in a small smile.

“You’re joking but it’s a good idea! I’ve noticed more things are getting put out. I’m going to visualize what I need and maybe it will be there!

“Good luck, Bokuto-san,”

The next morning, Bokuto slowed to a walk as he approached the house and scanned the table. There was an old teapot and some plates as well as some of the items that had been there before and he sighed, disappointed, and prepared to resume his run. Just before he did, he saw the calico cat walking towards him. 

“Hey kitty, what are you doing over here?” 

He reached down to pet the cat, who ignored him and walked over to the table and hopped up on to it. The cat delicately wended its way around the items, sniffing the teacups, tail twitching, then put a paw on something that flashed in the sun and meowed. 

“What? Are you trying to show me something?” Curious, he went up to the table to see. The sun had reflected off a shiny metal pie pan; next to it, half buried under a pile of old utensils, was a rolling pin. When he picked up the pie pan, he discovered it was actually two stuck together. 

He barely restrained himself from whooping loud enough to wake the neighborhood as he picked them up from the table. 

_So what’s on the menu for today? Another gourmet spectacular on the horizon?_

I’m doing a baking class – we’re learning how to make pie

_Really? My great-grandma used to make pie. She and my great-grandfather lived in America for a few years and she learned how to make pies there._

If you were here, you could help me make pie!

_OMG that would be so much fun_

The pie class was a success. Bokuto made two pies: an apple pie and a lemon meringue pie. He had a lot of fun swirling the meringue into artful shapes and it looked amazing when it came out of the oven. He tried to do a lattice top on the apple pie and it didn’t come out quite like he wanted, so he decided to bring the lemon meringue pie to Akaashi and Osamu and eat the apple pie at home. After cleaning up the mess from his pie-making odyssey, he cut himself a generous slice of pie and took it out to his patio to eat.

Just as he was about to take a bite, his doorbell chimed. He went to the door and found another package that had been delivered. When he came back out to the patio, he found a cat licking the pie filling. It looked like the cat he saw on his morning runs, the white cat with calico markings on its head and golden eyes.

“Hey little dude, I don’t know if pie is good for cats, maybe you shouldn’t be eating that,”

The cat stopped for a moment, looked up at him, then continued licking the pie filling.

“C’mon dude, that’s _my_ pie,” Bokuto said plaintively; then he brightened. “Though I guess it must be good if you’re brave enough to eat it while I’m standing right here,” He ducked back inside, grabbed his phone, and took a couple of pictures. The cat nibbled at the crust, then decided it had had enough. While Bokuto got another piece of pie, the cat cleaned its face and curled up on the other chair on Bokuto’s patio. When Bokuto started dozing in his chair, the cat walked across the table and curled up in his lap and they had a relaxing nap together. 

Bokuto was awakened by the buzzing of his phone. There was a warm spot where the cat had been sitting, 

_How was the pie?_

Good, though one of the neighborhood cats ate some of it  
[piecat.jpg]

_So bold! Kind of looks like one the cats in my neighborhood. He’s been very friendly to me, hangs out in the yard of baachan’s house_

One morning, he woke up later than usual. He had stayed up late the night before, watching videos of old volleyball matches. By the time he stopped watching, he was feeling melancholy, lonely, and touch-starved. Sure, he could text and video chat with his friends, but he missed his teammates and missed playing volleyball and all the contact it provided. At least he had some large stuffed animals to cuddle with, but he still slept poorly, and when his alarm went off, he ignored it and went to sleep for a few more hours. 

_It’s not like I have to be anywhere, might as well sleep in, he thought to himself._ By the time he woke up, it was mid-morning. He thought about skipping his run, but he knew from experience that the best way to avoid what his Fukurodani teammates used to call his “emo mode” was to exercise, so he reluctantly got up, put on his running gear and headed outside. 

Five minutes into his run, he was already feeling better. By the time he passed the what used to be the old lady’s house, he was back to his usual cheery self. He noticed his shoe was untied, so he stopped to tie it and noticed the cat who had visited him a few days ago staring at him from a few feet away.

“Oh, It’s you again,” the cat looked at him. “Since you’ve eaten my pie, will you let me pet you?” He held his fingers out for the cat to sniff. It came closer, sniffed him, then bumped its head against his hand. He petted it as it purred and rubbed its body against his leg, leaving an impressive amount of white fur behind on his black shorts.

“Is that your cat?” came a voice behind him. “I’ve seen him hanging out in the backyard,” Bokuto looked up and saw a tall man with dark hair. He was wearing a red track jacket and a face mask, and his eyes looked kind and mischievous.

“Nah, not mine, but I’ve seen him in the neighborhood, and he stole some of my pie last week,” 

“What a coincidence – I have a friend who baked a pie and a cat stole some of it,”

They looked more closely at each other, then pulled out their phones.

“It’s you!”

“And it’s you! Bro!”  


“Nice to meet you at last. I’m Kuroo Tetsurou – want to come hang out?”

“Yes! Or, well, let me take a shower first, I was just finishing up my run. I’m Bokuto Koutarou, by the way,”

Already fast friends, they made plans to meet for lunch and parted, after creating contacts in their respective phones, now that they knew who had been texting.

The cat, meanwhile, sauntered away, an expression almost like a smile on its face.

**Author's Note:**

> True story: I was debating whether or not to sign up for a class that involved making noodles but I didn't have a pasta machine. One morning, I went for a jog and passed a house in the neighborhood that a table out with various household items, including a pasta machine. I took it home, signed up for the class and made delicious noodles! Next thing I knew I was writing this fic.
> 
> If you enjoyed this, please leave a comment or kudos.


End file.
